And Emma Lou Too

Emma was around in the backyard too, but it was late afternoon, also known as the "witching hour." No big smiles were to be had.

Especially for my latest attempt at a sibling shot. 

Just wait guys... it will only get worse as you age. 

Show Me Love

Sometimes it's takes a ton of shutter clicks to get a great shot.

Show me mad.

Show me silly.

Show me sad.

Show me surprised.

And, finally my new favorite picture of all time...

Show me happy.

♥

Moves Like Jagger

We saw Maroon 5 and Train in concert last night at the Cynthia Woods Pavillion. The concerts we have seen there have always been awesome, and this one was no exception. It's amazing how good music can make you forget how incredible hot and sweaty you are. Outdoor pavillion in Houston?!? Craziness! I guess they know they have to bring it. Both bands were awesome and amazingly both lead singers even more so incredibly skinny in person. Between Adam Levine and his jeggings and Pat Monahan and his white jeans, I'm not quite sure who wins in the rock star, who wore it better, lightweight competition.

I will say that although Maroon 5 sounded great and played all their best hits. And, Adam Levine is pretty stinking cute, albeit really, really skinny.

But, Train R-O-C-K-ed it! I think he was singing Aerosmith's "Dream On" here. What a great entertainer!

And, then we had a brush with fame. I think Zachary is touching Adam Levine in this picture. And, he swore he would never wash his hand again. Although, I'm pretty sure Monique made him shower before going to bed.

My two little ones stayed behind at the hotel. I, of course, did not check in... until we had been there an hour. And, the babysitter was happy to report that Emma was sleeping and Noah was still watching Diego. Dean and I stayed until the end of the concert and arrived back at the hotel to two sleeping children. Emma slept the whole time, and Noah finally crashed about 10:30 PM. What a fun night, and I am so proud of my two kiddos for being so good and letting Momma and Daddy enjoy a night out. And, despite the fact that you both woke us up between the hours of 5:30 AM - 6:00 AM... still proud, but also tired.

Center of Attention

Move over Mister No, there's a new girl in town.  And, your cousins are smitten. 

There was a bit of musical chairs.  Hugs from Seth.

Snuggles with Zack.

Giggles for Blake.

A brush with the paparazzi.

Happy to perform for her audience.

Finally, Aunt Mo gets a turn.

Emma is Laughing

Tired. That's what everyone in our whole family is. Well, except for Emma who amazingly slept a seven hour stretch last night. Noah must have sensed that Momma had the potential for a full nights sleep because he was up from 3:30-4:30AM. Ouch! Thanks buddy.

Anyway, we carried on with our regular Friday. I was tired with way less patience than usual. Noah was overly tired and way more distracted than usual.  Dinnertime finally arrived, and I fixed Noah a bowl of Gumbo. I put Emma in her yellow Boppy on the counter. I set her right in front of her brother. Noah, upon seeing the bowl of Gumbo, started yelling for a "HOT DOG!"

Emma started cracking up laughing. I looked at Emma then Noah. I started laughing. Noah looked at Emma then me and smiled. Amazing. Noah looked at me and then looked at Emma again and laughed. Totally amazing. Then he said, "Hi Emma." Then he looked at me, "Emma is laughing." Totally spontaneous and completely original language.

What an absolutely amazing moment to start our weekend. Great job, Noah. And, sweet baby Emma, thank you for being such a wonderful edition to this family.

Arrh!

The other morning we were listening to Kids Place Live on XM radio while driving to school. Apparently, the station had deemed the day "talk like a pirate" day, and the strands of Eye of the Tiger started to blast through the speakers.

Dum. Dum, dum. Dum... Dum, dum. Dum. Dum, dum. Duuummm.
But, instead of the lyric being "eye of the tiger," Survivors tiger was audio dubbed with a "pirate." With a very pirate sounding "arrrrh."

Noah thought it was hilarious. And, of course, when it was over, he said, "wanna do it again?" Then, I tried to explain that the song was actually on the radio and not on a CD/iPod. He was not getting it. "Pirate song again, PLEASE!" Sorry, I told him. "PIRATE. SONG. AGAIN!!" Suffice it to say the remainder of the drive had no music.

Since that morning, Noah has asked for "the pirate song in Momma's car again ok." Just like that. Every morning this week. This morning I decided to download Eye of the Tiger onto my iPod. When I started to play the song, Noah got the best smile on his face and said, "Momma, you found it."

Now, of course, I had to fill in the pirate voice-overs, but what a fun ride to school.

Self Soothing

Emma has started sucking on her hand. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's amazing the number of people who have noticed it lately and made the comment "she's self soothing, that's great." Several of my autism mom friends and Noah's speech therapist have all noticed and commented. So, was Noah not a self soother? I'm not sure. He was a comfort nurser for sure, whereas Emma is not, and I guess really it seems only natural the second born, having to spilt attention with her older brother, may come up with ways to soothe herself.


Emma is a trooper. She hangs with me Monday thru Friday as we've picked up Noah's schedule again from last spring. Everyday we're out of the house by 8:15 AM and depending on the day, back home by 12:45 PM at the earliest and 4:45 PM at the latest. I know at some point this is not going to work for her. Some days are too long. Sometime in the near future a schedule adjustment will be needed. Either for her or for her big brother. But for right now, she's hanging in there, and selfishly, with me is where I want her to be.

Splish Splash

Emma loves bathtime.

Even on the grouchiest of evenings...

Baths make this sweet baby so happy!

Field Trip - The Park

Noah had his first field trip of the school year this past Friday.  I decided to leave Emma with a sitter.  1. Because the summer has been so hot, and I didn't want baby girl to suffer 100+ temps, and 2. I thought Noah deserved a little one-on-one time with Momma.  When I told Noah that we were leaving Emma at home, he gave me the sweetest smile and his eyes just lit up.  I think he was pretty excited to have me to himself.  Emma, on the other hand, was being left for the first time.  Luckily, the sitter didn't seem fazed when I told her that Emma had taken a bottle, um... twice before, so good luck.  Emma did great and was happy and awake when we got home.  Here a few pictures from our morning at the park. 

Noah spent a lot of time climbing the steps of the play structure and sliding down the mountain wall.  It didn't really seem to phase him that it wasn't really a slide.  I think he liked the challenge. 

Admiring the local graffiti.  Hey Momma, how come there is smoke coming out of this carrot?

Noah's teacher, Mrs. J.  She's got a huge personality and not paying attention is just not an option.

Running up and down a hill in the park which all the kids referred to as a "mountain."

Awwh, Sha

So, this story has a bit of back story but there's a super sweet payoff at the end. I guess we can just call it, slice of life.

I was asked to give a video testimonial on our autism story for Noah's school to use for fundraising. They pulled Noah out of class to come sit with me to record a "Thank You School!" message. Several moms offered to watch Emma in a nearby office while I spoke on camera. After Noah and I finished our part, a staff member was going to take him back to his class. He asked to see Emma first (obviously stalling), so they made a detour to the office. Noah hung out in the office a bit before unhappily heading back to class. Upon realizing her brother was gone, Emma burst into tears. They waited about 10 minutes before they interrupted me to calm her down. This little one loves her big brother.


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Another Sneak Attack

Have I mentioned that Noah gets a tad jealous when Momma turns her camera on Emma?

Here's more proof.

I think Em likes the attention.

Yummy Treats

Noah informed me late this afternoon that he would like some "yummy treats," so I dug out a new popsicle from the freezer.  Sister had her eye on brother and that popsicle.

She thought it was hilarious.

Noah thought it was delicious. 

Emma - Three Months

It's super early in the morning while I'm working on this blog post. You just woke up to eat, and I am listening to you settle back down to sleep. Noah has at some point tonight climbed in our bed and has gone back to sleep. Your daddy and he, while not actually snoring, are making the sounds of very deep sleep.  Well, Emma, I'm going to try very hard to keep up with your monthly post for first year, but it's highly possible that I may fall short a few months. Just a bit of a warning.

You are a drool monster. It's not dissimilar to your brother, but when he was a baby, we spent 90% of our time at home. If his outfit was too wet, I'd change him. I could do the same for you, you have enough clothes, but I don't think my diaper bag is big enough. Looks like it's time to start using bibs. Is it to early for teething?

You are on the move. Rolling and scooting, and it's very rare that you remain in the same spot I put you down. You still sleep in Momma and Daddy's room, but the days of you being comfortable in a pack-n-play are growing short. I think you are soon going to need the extra room, the crib in your room will provide.

You are still a fairly good sleeper, only waking about once a night. I can always tell when you are really out for the night when you roll to your side and cock your head back. It does not look like a very comfortable position to me, but that is how you sleep.

You are more and more vocal. Cooing. Laughing. Crying. You are getting a lot better at expressing your discomfort, and you are loud. Lucky for Momma, this is not too often.


You make excellent eye contact, and I often catch you laughing at me or Noah when we are not looking. I always try to look back because if there is one thing I want you to learn as an infant, it's the joy you can have by interacting with other people. And, as a mother, I will not take for granted how easy it is to show you right now.


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Cousins

Noah loves his cousins.  It's not very often that we are there to complete the cousin photo.  I didn't want to miss the opportunity.  Special thanks to Morgan for the body hold keeping Noah in the picture!

Bumbo and Your Brother

I decided to pull out the Bumbo to see if Emma would like it.

She did.

Noah is not afraid to crash a photo... actually only his sister's photos.

And, he is definitely not afraid to swipe a toy... especially his sister's toy.

And the Little One Said... Roll Over

Three months old and here she is rolling back to belly to back to belly to back to belly... you get the picture.  She started tonight and just kept going.  Mobility is coming quicker than I thought.  Not sure I'm ready for it.

Hi Momma.

Here I go.

Wanna do it again?